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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. vault — a safe
  5. shower — rain
  6. bass — the fish
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — letters
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. branch — a division
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bass — low music
  24. vault — in gymnastics

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com